Dispelling misconceptions about who uses e‐cigarettes and why

E‐cigarettes are not predominantly used as smoking cessation tools for older smokers

In Australia, the use of e‐cigarettes has increased substantially in recent years, especially among adolescents and young adults,1 despite our unique and somewhat complex approach to regulating the devices and their e‐liquids.2 It is now well established that e‐cigarettes pose a threat to public health.3 A recent umbrella review found that e‐cigarette users are at least three times as likely to start smoking cigarettes than non‐users, and that former smokers using e‐cigarettes are twice as likely to relapse to cigarette smoking.4 However, a key premise of e‐cigarette proponents is that they are effective smoking cessation and harm reduction tools, intended to help smokers attempting to quit or reduce tobacco use rather than to recruit new nicotine users.